Advertising

When you see that magic 40-miles-per-gallon number in a car ad, does it make you pay attention? Most likely it does. (Among other things, it's usually in much larger type than the other two EPA ratings.) But how seriously should you take any publicized gas-mileage ratings? Most people seem to know...

We have to admit, Kermit the Frog has wisdom well beyond his species. "It isn't easy being green" describes the world of electric and hybrid vehicles quite vividly, and few have found it less easy being green than Fisker Automotive, makers of the Karma range-extended luxury car. So difficult have...

Why would you buy a plug-in electric car? To save money on gas? To save the planet? Maybe. But that's not how they should be marketed, said Hollywood producer Dean Devlin. "The Volt is an amazing, groundbreaking car," he said. "The Leaf is a gigantic breakthrough--but they're being sold as...

Plug-in electric cars are now on sale from several carmakers, and their sales will rise slowly over the next decade. Right now, most of the marketing for those electric cars focuses on green themes or cost savings on the gasoline drivers don't have to buy. But there's one factor no electric-car...

To say the Chevrolet Volt range-extended electric car has become a political punching bag would be to understate the obvious. Now, GM is slowly, carefully trying to get the facts about the Volt out to the public at large, hoping to win hearts and minds in a larger battle involving electric cars...

Isaiah Mustafa has ruined advertising. He may not have written his own monologues for those popular Old Spice ads, but Mustafa's deadpan delivery and sublime quirkiness have inspired a thousand would-be imitators. Even talented actors like Ryan Reynolds can't measure up, as we see in a new clip for...

How do you mark the first year of sales of an electric car? You sing Happy Birthday to it, of course. At least, that’s what Nissan North America chose to do to mark the one year anniversary of the Nissan Leaf electric car being sold in the U.S. But it wasn’t people or polar bears...

What do you get if you cross a cult-horror movie filmmaker, an electric car, and a killer wasp? We weren’t sure either, until Californian electric vehicle specialist Epic EV announced the official launch of its all-electric All-Terrain Vehicle (ATV) -- the Epic Amp. As part of the Epic Amp...

To promote its college discount, GM recently ran ads advising students to 'stop pedaling and start driving,' which raised the ire of the League of American Bicyclists.

Historically, electric vehicles haven’t had an easy time of it thanks to the old stereotype that they are slow, boring and can’t cope with the real world. We all know that isn’t true -- but what would you to to convince the general public that your new electric off-road...

Have a few minutes to kill this Friday? Enjoy online games? Then you might like a walkthrough of Nissan's newest project, a "game-style promotion website" called "The Planet Zero". Nissan's website envisions a planet where everything runs on electricity generated by the sun and wind, and thus...

Toyota has had a bumpy ride the past couple of years, thanks in no small part to a high-profile series of safety recalls. To make matters worse, its popular Prius was recently lost its #1 spot on the EPA's list of fuel-efficient cars. But not to worry: the automaker just landed atop a different...

The list of cars that have been celebrated in song is long. Think pink Cadillacs, little Deuce coupes, Pontiac GTO, and many Mustangs, with or without Sally. Now you can add the Honda Civic to that list. The modest and unassuming line of compact hatchbacks and sedans known for their fuel efficiency...

For the first time in 80 years or so, major automakers are building and selling plug-in electric cars in the U.S. How are they letting people know about their new cars? Advertising, of course. Our colleague Richard Read looked at four electric-car TV ads, analyzing what made them work and what...

We don't envy the makers of electric cars. They have to deliver vehicles that look as great as their gas-powered counterparts, and they have to explain those vehicles, too -- how they work, battery range, and so on. They've got a long, tough battle to win over consumers. But while we wouldn't...

About a year and a half ago, Scion launched a new webmagazine called ScionAV. The goal? To engage potential Scion shoppers (i.e. Millennials) on lifestyle topics like music, film, and fashion. It's the way marketing works in the Social Media Age: you don't just talk to customers in showrooms, you...

Spring has sprung for the 2012 Toyota Prius Plug-In. The highly anticipated hybrid recently began making the rounds with critics, so it's not surprising that Toyota chose the end of this month to tout the Prius brand by hosting a live, two-day event in which four Prii will be put through a number...

We’ve said it before, but Nissan makes unmistakably Japanese-looking cars. From the eye-like large headlamps, smiling grille and bulbous nose of the Nissan Townpod concept to the soft curves of the 2011 Nissan Leaf, Nissan’s cars look as if they belong in the pages of a manga. Someone...

What happens when the humble charging station gets a makeover courtesy of a top San Francisco design firm, a choice of colors and an TV advert full of young, happy, carefree friends making an EV road trip? The GE WattStation. Developed by General Electric as its answer to the demand for electric...

It’s the start of the football season in the U.S, and that means millions of viewers watching the games in their own home. Which translates to millions of eyeballs watching television ads during the game. In short, NFL mid-game adverts are big-buck affairs. Automakers know that, and have...